It hadn't been long since I started working at House Razgrim. Nevertheless, I had already mastered most of my duties.
I would wake before dawn, tie back my hair, and open the hallway windows to let out the stale night air. I fetched hot water from the kitchen, measured out tea leaves to coincide with the Master's waking, and set out enough plates for everyone dining in the hall.
At first, I had moved only when Mylene instructed me, but now I could anticipate what was needed. I knew which teacup belonged to whom, which rooms had to be cleaned before the morning sun reached them, and where to set the tea on the desk so it wouldn't obstruct the Master's documents.
Compared to reading a person's next move by the shift in their weight or the direction of their gaze, this was easy.
I finished wiping the table and folded the cloth. Immediately, a quiet voice reached me from behind.
"Serena-san, you've already finished here!"
I turned to find Mylene standing there with a narrow-necked carafe in one hand. It should have been filled with hot water, yet the surface didn't make a sound. Despite the stack of breakfast linens and plates balanced on her other arm, her stride remained perfectly steady.
...As I thought, she was far from ordinary.
"I should brew the tea next, right?"
"Yes. But it seems I don't need to guide you through the details anymore! You truly are a fast learner."
Mylene looked over the table and nudged the Master's teacup exactly a finger's width to the right.
"Was the placement wrong?"
"No... it's just that the Master finds the handle easier to reach when it's angled this way. He mentioned it once before."
She had memorized a single comment and repeated the placement every morning since...
Mylene didn't just know when the Master woke; she knew where every document was kept, who had finished their meal, and who was still in their room. When we passed in the hallway, she would shift half a step before the other person even moved, never once bumping into anything she carried.
—Above all, she had almost no presence.
Even without any hostility on her part, I hadn't realized she was behind me until she spoke. For the old me, that would have been unthinkable.
I watched Mylene's hands as she poured the hot water. Her slender wrists didn't waver in the least, and her expression didn't change even as the rising steam brushed against her fingertips.
Give her a dagger, and she could slit a throat before the victim even knew she was there. By the time a second guard drew their sword, she would already be inside their reach. If a third tried to flee, she could stop them in their tracks by hurling a plate or a teacup.
"Mylene."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Have you ever been trained in combat?"
The carafe tilted just a fraction.
Not a single drop was spilled.
"...I haven't. Why do you ask?"
"Your footsteps are silent, and your movements are devoid of waste. Even with your hands full, you see everything around you. If you held a blade, you'd be a formidable fighter."
Mylene blinked several times, then lowered her brows in a troubled expression.
"I merely move in a way that won't disturb the Master or our guests. As for blades... I can only handle kitchen knives."
"You can kill a person with a kitchen knife."
"I won't be killing anyone, you know."
Her response was immediate.
The fact that she didn't say she couldn't do it was suspicious, but it was clear she had no intention of saying more. I couldn't tell if she was truly unaware of her own lethality or if she was simply hiding it behind her role as a maid.
Perhaps these were simply the skills required to be the head maid of House Razgrim.
I still had much to learn.
"I see. I'll leave the rest to you."
"I'm a little worried about what exactly you 'see'... but would you mind handling the Master's tea today, Serena-san?"
"Yeah. Is the same strength as yesterday fine?"
"Yes. He didn't say anything yesterday, so I believe it was to his liking."
The Master was quick to voice his dissatisfaction. If the tea was weak, he'd say it was weak; if it was strong, he'd call it bitter. Conversely, when he liked it, he would drink it to the last drop in silence.
I had come to understand that much by now. I measured the leaves and poured the water. The time spent waiting for the aroma to bloom didn't feel as long as it once had.
In my old life, I never wasted a single breath when taking a life. Yet now, I didn't mind waiting as I watched the color of the tea change through the steam.
When I placed the cup on the tray, Mylene smiled softly.
"You've become quite skilled. Both the scent and the color are completely different from your first attempt."
"The first time, he said it was weak. The next, he said it was too strong..."
"The Master is very direct about what he's thinking, after all."
"He's easy to understand."
There was no need to read the hidden meaning behind his orders. In my past, it wasn't uncommon for those who caused offense to vanish by the next morning. Here, if you made a mistake, you were simply told to fix it next time.
I had been saved many times by that simplicity.
As I turned to leave the room with the tray, Mylene called out to me.
"Serena-san."
"What?"
"Have you grown accustomed to life here?"
"I've learned the work."
"Not the work... I mean, do you find life here... disagreeable?"
My feet stopped.
Did I find it disagreeable...?
Before, it hadn't mattered where I slept. As long as the next order arrived and there was a target for my blade, that was enough. I had never cared about the taste of food, the size of a room, or who shared the roof with me.
But now, when morning comes, Mylene is there. I know where the tea leaves are kept and which window latches are loose. I've learned that when the Master is reading documents, it's less intrusive to place the tea on the left, and when he's counting coins, it's better to place it on the right.
Drying plates, sweeping floors, folding linens... even if the day ends with nothing more than that, it doesn't feel like a waste.
"...I don't dislike it."
When I spoke, my voice was quieter than I had intended.
"It's quiet here. No one orders me to kill. If I fail, I'm told to be careful next time. And... I don't dislike working with you."
Mylene's grey eyes widened.
I thought I might have phrased it poorly, but her eyes eventually crinkled with joy.
"...Thank you! I'm happy to be working with you as well, Serena-san."
A faint warmth spread through my chest.
It was different from the rush of poison or the sting of a blade. Not knowing how to process it, I lowered my gaze and adjusted my grip on the tray.
◇
When I entered the Master's room, several sheets of parchment were spread across his desk.
He seemed to be reviewing the agreement with the Second Princess, tracing the characters one by one with a deep furrow between his brows. He wasn't delegating the task to someone else like he used to; he was comparing the conditions himself.
"I brought tea."
"Ah. Good work... Put it there."
I placed the cup where he indicated and stepped back.
The Master took a sip without looking up from the parchment. Gradually, the tension in his brow relaxed, and he finally turned to look at me.
"It's just right today."
"It's the same strength as yesterday."
"I see... You've mastered most of the mansion's duties by now, haven't you?"
"Yeah."
He set the cup back on the desk.
"Being a fast learner is a virtue. Not just the tea—you're doing a fine job with the cleaning and organizing as well. You've taken a lot off Mylene's plate. You're doing well."
I was speechless.
When I was the Shadow-Stitcher, no matter how quickly I completed a mission, the only thing waiting for me was the next name. I was never praised for my success, nor was I ever acknowledged for my growth.
Fast. Silent. Untraceable.
I had received such evaluations before. But that was no different from testing the edge of a blade.
The Master didn't know my past.
Without knowing who I had killed or how much blood I had shed, he looked at who I was now and told me I was doing well.
"...I see."
That was all I could manage to say.
I wanted to say something more, but I couldn't find the words. The Master didn't seem to notice my hesitation and returned his attention to the parchment.
"I'm counting on you today, too. Dealing with royalty makes the tea disappear faster than I can brew it..."
"Yeah... Leave it to me."
Even after I left the room, the warmth in my chest didn't fade.
Halfway down the hallway, I finally realized that the feeling was joy.
At the same time, I remembered the eyes of the First Prince's messenger.
That man knew who I was.
No, he wasn't looking at Serena.
He was looking at the Shadow-Stitcher.
The Master clearly knows I'm no ordinary woman. He saw me take down those men in the royal capital, and he likely suspects I was the one who caught the assassins who infiltrated the mansion.
Even so, he hasn't asked what I used to do. And because he hasn't asked, I haven't told him.
Shadow-Stitcher.
The assassin feared in the capital's underworld.
I took gold to kill whoever I was told to. Nobles, merchants, traitorous comrades—if a name was provided, I turned my blade toward them all the same.
That past doesn't vanish just because I'm wearing a maid's uniform.
What would the Master do if he found out?
Would he still tell me I'm doing well? Or... would he throw me out?
Would Mylene still work beside me as if nothing had changed?
It would be only natural if they said they couldn't sleep under the same roof as a murderer.
If that happened, I would just leave.
I would change my name again and find somewhere else to live where no one knew me. I have few belongings. Disappearing into the night would be easy.
In the past, that wouldn't have bothered me at all.
But now, I didn't want to forget where the tea leaves were kept. I didn't want to lose the sound of walking through the hallway in the morning, the scent of the steam, Mylene's smile, or the Master's casual praise.
When I returned to the dining hall, Mylene was folding linens. She looked up as soon as she saw me.
"How was the Master's tea?"
"He said it was just right. And... that I'm doing well with my work."
The moment I said it, the warmth in my chest returned.
Mylene beamed, looking as happy as if the praise had been for her.
"That's wonderful! When the Master offers a compliment, he truly means it."
"Yeah."
That was why I was afraid.
How would the people who accepted me now change once they knew the truth?
Mylene handed me half of the folded cloths, her face untroubled.
"Once we've finished tidying up, let's prepare tomorrow's tea leaves. I'm counting on you tomorrow as well, Serena-san."
She spoke of tomorrow as if it were a certainty.
I took the cloths and squeezed them a little tighter.
"...Yeah. Tomorrow, too."
There was no guarantee I could stay here tomorrow.
Even so, I wanted to be here.